


Confession

by tveckling



Series: The Outsider's Angels [2]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Almost direct continuation from the other fic, Kissing, M/M, Not graphic mentions of blood and wounds, Sci-Fi Elements, Still kinda pre-slash but also not, The Outsider is not human
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 11:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12189354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: "Outsider?" he asked, hoping the Outsider still had his comlink. "Outsider, come in. It's Raven, I'm here now. There's no one else out here, it's safe to open the door."He waited a few seconds, his worry quickly growing to engulf him when he got no response."Outsider? If you can hear me, say something. I'm here now, just like I said. Open the door. Please, just... please."His breath came in quick bursts, a cold hand squeezing his heart tighter, and Corvo threw himself at the door, banging at it as hard as he could. "Outsider!"





	Confession

**Author's Note:**

> Another thanks to wehavekookies on tumblr who first created the AU that gave me the idea for these things, and who continue to be awesome and helpful and give good advice. And hopefully art *wiggles eyebrows*

The last person finally went down, the curse dying halfway through her lips as Corvo's knife cut her throat. He looked around, panting, but saw no movement anywhere, heard no sound. Nothing. It should have calmed him down, allowed him a moment to breathe, but instead he turned and banged on the locked door. While the surface of the heavy steel bore marks of the attempts to get past it by force, it was still standing unbroken. It had been a relief to see, but now Corvo wanted nothing more than to tear it down so he could get to the the one hidden within.

"Outsider?" he asked, hoping the Outsider still had his comlink. "Outsider, come in. It's Raven, I'm here now. There's no one else out here, it's safe to open the door."

He waited a few seconds, his worry quickly growing to engulf him when he got no response.

"Outsider? If you can hear me, say something. I'm here now, just like I said. Open the door. Please, just... please."

His breath came in quick bursts, a cold hand squeezing his heart tighter, and Corvo threw himself at the door, banging at it as hard as he could. "Outsider!"

Beneath the drumming in his ears he thought he heard a groan, and in a heartbeat Corvo froze, barely daring to breathe in case he had heard wrong.

"Nnh. Corvo?"

He could have wept at hearing the voice, however groggy and confused, even though the dropped codename meant the Outsider was too out if it to adhere to his usual security routines. He was still alive, still well enough to be talking. That meant Corvo hadn't been too late this time. "Yes. Yes, it's me. I'm outside the door now, but I can't get in to you. Can you open it?"

"Yes," the Outsider said after a second. "Just-"

It seemed like an eternity passed before a loud click was heard and the door slowly slid to the side; as soon as he could squeeze past it Corvo moved, his eyes already looking for the Outsider's form. Focused on the whole of the room as he was he almost stepped on the crumpled shape just a couple steps into the room, but a small shift in position and the following gasp caught his attention immediately. In a heartbeat he was over at his knees by the Outsider's side, looking him over with an experienced eye.

The Outsider was paler than Corvo had ever seen him, looking more like a corpse than a human, but his loud, labored breathing took the burst of fear away. At least for now he was still alive, although the dried blood at the corner of his mouth made bile rise in Corvo's throat. His face was drawn in pain, and when Corvo cupped his cheek he could feel cold sweat. It took another moment, but then the Outsider opened his eyes, blinking several times before he managed to focus on Corvo. That he was able to do that eased some of Corvo's fear, and he tried to smile.

"I'm here, like I said. You don't look so good; where are you wounded?"

The Outsider's brow furrowed and he looked down at himself, removing his hand from where he had held it against his stomach. His hand was colored dark, and Corvo's swallowed hard at the sight, but the Outsider himself seemed mostly curious, looking down at his hand with a faraway expression on his face. Now that Corvo looked he could see how the blue leather of the Outsider's jacket was colored black, and how there was a pool of dark liquid on the floor around him.

"We need to get you to the med room, call a doctor maybe-"

"There's no need." The Outsider's voice was quiet and full of pain, but still managed to hold his usual commanding tone that forced others to listen to him. "I- i might need your help to move, but there is no need for a doctor. I can take care of this by myself."

"You?" Corvo shook his head. "I'm sure you can take care of injuries just as well as I can, but a wound that has bled this much needs more care than I can give. And look how much you've bled! We need a doctor, a blood-transfusion, an operation probably-"

"Corvo." The Outsider's hand was soft but unyielding when it grabbed Corvo's chin, turning his face back down so their gazes locked. "I don't need a doctor, not when the damage is at this level. All I need is your assistance to get to my room. Trust me to know this body the best—I am the one using it, after all."

Corvo opened his mouth, and for a second he was gathering the words to argue, but the Outsider's eyes put out the words again and he closed his mouth tight, displeasure coiling low in his stomach. He had been following the Outsider's words for years, however, and the quiet assurance hadn't disappeared. He could only hope that the Outsider truly knew what he was doing, or else Corvo wouldn't know what he would do.

It was hard to stop the grimace when he put the Outsider's arm around his shoulders and put his own arms around the Outsider's waist, feeling the wetness all across the leather clad back, but he didn't want the Outsider to notice. He had to have enough to think about without Corvo's squeamishness making an appearance too. Trying not to think about it too much—about anything, really—Corvo carefully maneuvered them to their feet, pausing every time the Outsider's breath hitched. Finally they were both upright, and Corvo wondered if it would have been better if he had just carried the Outsider instead, because as it was the Outsider seemed to lean most of his weight against Corvo, and he clearly had problems taking even one step.

With his jaw clenched shut and his eyes straight ahead it didn't look like the Outsider was going to say anything, though, and so Corvo kept silent.

The base wasn't all that big, and every room was free to use by the various agents who were in at the time—all except one. Even Corvo had never actually gone inside the Outsider's bedroom, even though he had several times thought about asking. Sometimes he even thought the Outsider would have welcomed him in. Such lighthearted thoughts were far at the back of his mind, however, as Corvo helped the Outsider across rooms and hallways, finally stopping in front of the nondescript but so imposing wooden door.

"There," the Outsider breathed out. During their walk his labored breathing had gotten worse, and he was every word was a fight. It pained Corvo to hear, more than he'd ever thought. "My thanks. I can take care of myself from here."

Corvo's head swirled and he stared at the side of the Outsider's head. "What? You think I'm just going to leave you here? What should I do, go and twiddle my thumbs while I wait for you to either get fixed up or die?" He scoffed and, ignoring the Outsider's protests, pushed the door open.

Whatever he had imagined was not what he saw. The big desk and computer screen were definitely part of it, but nothing else. Where he had expected maybe a bed, some bookshelves and a armchair, there were only machines of a kind he had never seen before. They covered more than half the room, a variety of machines and wires, several connected to a mechanical chair—the closest comparison he could think of was of one of those dentist chairs.

With a grunt the Outsider pulled away from Corvo, stumbling over and catching himself against the wall. Not until then Corvo realized he had been frozen by the sight, standing immobile for long enough to be embarrassing. He looked at the Outsider for some answer, but was only faced with a silent back.

"What is this?" he finally asked, watching as the Outsider slowly and painfully made his way across the room towards the chair.

"My bedroom," the Outsider answered, more bite in his tone than Corvo had ever heard directed his way. Only Daud got that tone. "And now that you've gotten a long, good look, you can feel free to leave at any time your heart desires."

Corvo shook his head and rubbed his face, frustration mounting. He felt the blood smear across his face too late, but decided he didn't care. Not now. "I'm not going to leave. I just want to know what this is? What's going on here- and what are you doing?"

The Outsider was standing next to the mechanical chair, swaying as he did, but he had begun stripping, throwing off his jacket with jerky movements. When he grabbed his shirt Corvo could have sworn he saw those black eyes quickly turn in his direction, but it could just as easily have been a trick of the light. Either way the Outsider got rid of that garment as well, letting it fall to the floor. "Since you're not leaving, it seems I have no choice but to proceed, regardless of your presence or thoughts. I have no desire to leave this situation as it is."

Corvo's attention was fixed on the bloodied back, and that was surely why he noticed that something seemed to—glint?

With a few steps he was over by the Outsider's side, heart in his throat as he bent down to get a better look. Maybe there had been something that Delilah's people had used, maybe it was a weapon meant to self-destruct when messed with or somehow otherwise hinder in the treatment of the wound.

"Corvo-"

He touched it was careful fingers, pressed close. It didn't make sense. That was metal, clear as day, but it didn't seem to be a weapon or broken off metal piece, or any other sort of alien metal. The edges of it seemed to continue on, further into the Outsider's body, which made no sense, no sense at all.

"Corvo, listen- listen to me."

The Outsider's hand was something else to focus on, and as the Outsider turned around Corvo looked up at his face, trying not to look at the front of his abdomen, trying not to see if he could see metal hidden there as well.

"I didn't want you to know, not yet. It is far too early, by several years at least, but it seems even I can't predict every part of the future. I-" He stopped with a pained sound, his face paling even more. When he tipped over Corvo reacted by instinct, gathering him up in his arms and carefully helping him into the chair—it was the only flat surface nearby, and it had looked to be the Outsider's goal.

The Outsider took a moment to catch his breath, then opened his eyes. "This really isn't helping, is it?" he said, a self-deprecating smile on his lips. "I do want to tell you, explain this situation, explain my situation, but I will profess to having great difficulty focusing. The pain- it's certainly one of my least favorite sensations." As he talked the Outsider reached for something at his side, his face lightening as he pulled out a thick wire. He didn't look at Corvo as he brought it up to his neck, instead closing his eyes and concentrating. A moment later he pushed the end of the wire into his neck, sighing in relief almost immediately.

Corvo watched as the body in front of him relaxed, the signs of pain disappearing into nothingness. He shook his head, thoughts and theories and suspicions racing through his head. One thread was especially apparent in all thoughts: that the Outsider wasn't, couldn't possible be—but that was ridiculous. Such things happened in movies or books, not in real life.

As if he had heard Corvo's thoughts the Outsider opened his eyes and turned to Corvo, a solemn look on his face. "I should start by explaining myself, shouldn't I? There are a great many things I will have to tell you now, but I think it is best to start with what I'm sure you're thinking the hardest about right now. Yes, Corvo, it is as you fear. This body, I, am not human. Not in the way you are."

The Outsider paused and looked down at his hands. "I created this body, many years ago, as a place for my consciousness to inhabit. It was my only choice, next to what could best be described as a slow and mindless death. I had felt it before, although only for a few months, but it was- I could not allow it again, not when I knew there was close to no chance of them waking me up again. Not after I had already defied them so clearly.

"I was a human, before this, just like you. And though this is a body created by machines it is as close to human as possible; only by cutting me open will anyone actually find out the truth. Even though there is the issue of not being able to age, of course," he said with a quirk of his mouth. "However, since I focused on getting this body as close to human as my knowledge allowed I am forced to endure the different sensations human bodies do experience, even if it's not exactly at the same level. Not even I could imitate human life to that extent. Well enough, apparently—" he grimaced and shook his head, "—but from what I remember there are still leaps between what I experience now and what I experienced before."

"Who the hell did this to you?" Corvo blinked as he heard his own voice. He hadn't meant to say anything, not until he had gathered his thoughts better, but his mouth had acted before his brain, apparently.

The Outsider looked at him, face carefully blank. "Right now you won't be able to do anything against them, not without consequences that I know you don't want. It seems better to tell you later, when you have had time to think through all that I am telling you right now."

Corvo shook his head with a deep sigh and crossed his arms. "So what exactly are you telling me, then? You used to be human, but now you are- what? A robot? And someone forced you into this?"

"That is the very bones of it, I suppose," the Outsider said as he thoughtfully tilted his head, a finger pressed against his lower lip. Corvo couldn't help but focus on the dark blood again, and looked up at the Outsider's eyes instead. "I built something a long time ago, a program that can change the world, and there were people who wanted it, for obvious, greedy and selfish reasons. I refused to help them. In return they put my body in a stasis chamber, unwilling to destroy a resource like my brain. And a few months later they still hadn't found someone who could properly use my program." The Outsider scoffed, sneering as he spoke. "As though I would have designed a program of such magnitude without safety measures, to be used by simply anyone who came across it.

"They didn't actually release me from the chamber; they transferred my consciousness into the hard-drive where my program was and threatened that should I not help them to unlock the secrets denied to them then they would send me back into the darkness. Their threat was real and I didn't know how long they would keep me asleep the next time, or if they would ever allow me to wake up again, so I did what I could. It was a good thing they didn't bother waking my body, I think, because without human limitations I could split my consciousness and work on several things at once. One part of me worked on dragging out the time before they realized I wouldn't help them, and the other part built a program, similar to my first. If I had had time I'm sure I would have accomplished much more, but they grew suspicious too quickly."

The Outsider quieted and tightened his hands, staring down at them for several long moments. "They threw me back out from the drive, but I managed to escape into my new program instead. The ability of it is far less than the Void, but it was enough for me to get started. I built this body, then transferred my consciousness over to it, and then I started gathering people who could help me search for information I need. The things I myself can do are limited, because should they figure out that I'm not imprisoned in the dying sleep they've put my body in then I know I wouldn't be able to evade them for long. Not as the situation is right now."

"I see." Corvo did understand everything the Outsider had said, even though he was still wrapping his head around what it all meant. "I can't call you a liar, not after what I saw or when I think back on these last years, but it's still... strange. I have never heard of technology coming far enough to transfer minds or make robot bodies that looks just like human."

"It doesn't just look like it, it feels and reacts much like a human body as well. It is a source of pride for me, since I only had limited tools at the time."

The Outsider wore a smug smile, and seeing it lured out a smile from Corvo. It fell off soon, however, as his eyes caught on the wound again.

"You're still bleeding," he pointed out, pushing down the unease that had mostly disappeared. If the body was so close to a human—and the Outsider had truly seemed in pain, and talked as though he would die—then wasn't it dangerous to let a wound simply be?

The Outsider looked down with a nod. "It will have to be fixed. I think it would be best for you to leave before I start the procedure, however. You fear you might find it," he paused, "uncomfortable to watch."

Corvo looked down at the hole in the Outsider's abdomen, saw the flesh glittering with metal, and looked away. He did not think he was ready to witness exactly what this 'procedure' meant, and now he felt more calmed with the knowledge that the Outsider wasn't going to die.

"I'll leave," he agreed. "There are bodies to take care of, and I need to get in touch with Daud as well and hear how it has gone on his side." He straightened and made to leave, but there was still something that held him back.

Looking over at the Outsider his eyes caught once again on the dried blood on his face, and Corvo felt his stomach lurch—relief that the Outsider was alive and would be safe, anger that the Outsider had been wounded, the fear that he might have been too late, and confusion. He hesitated, his mind going through everything he had discovered during the last ten minutes. The Outsider wasn't what Corvo had thought; he was so much more and also less than what he had seemed, and the revelation left some big questions that Corvo didn't know the answer to. Just an hour earlier he would have done anything to hold the Outsider in his arms and know that he was alive and safe—and loved. But could Corvo really feel the same now? The Outsider wasn't human, by his own admission. But at the same time he was, because he had a human body and he still retained a human mind.

The Outsider raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly as he waited for Corvo. Seeing the reaction made affection blossom in Corvo's chest, and he could have smacked himself. Nothing had changed. The Outsider was still the same annoying, cryptic, self-sacrificing man he had always been. It was just that Corvo had gotten more insight into him.

It changed nothing.

With a smile Corvo leaned down and pressed his lips against the Outsider's, keeping it there for a couple of seconds before pulling away again. "I'll be right outside. Call me when you're done," he said and turned, ease in his steps. He knew much more now, and as he walked his mind cleared. A goal was starting to appear, and he knew he needed help to pull it off. But now he knew he would let nothing stand in his way.


End file.
